Hans News Service Hyderabad

TheLB Nagar Special Operations Team (SOT) of the Malkajgiri Commissionerate busted an IPL ticket black-marketing racket operating near the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Uppal.

Ahead of the IPL T20 match between SRH and RCB on Friday, police apprehended four individuals red-handed while allegedly selling complimentary passes at exorbitant prices to desperate cricket fans in the black market.

Acting on a tip-off, the SOT police detained the four persons for selling complimentary passes marked “not for sale” at inflated prices for the SRH vs RCB match scheduled for May 22. Police seized several passes from their possession. The accused, along with the seized passes, were later handed over to Uppal police for further investigation.

According to police, such “not for sale” passes are generally reserved for VIPs or sponsors. Investigators suspect that these passes were diverted into the black market to cash in on the massive demand for the high-profile SRH versus RCB clash.

Police are now probing how the complimentary passes reached the accused and suspect that a wider network of ticket black-marketers may have purchased tickets in advance and later resold them at exorbitant rates. Investigators are also trying to identify individuals who may have facilitated the diversion of tickets from authorised channels.

Earlier this month, three persons were arrested for allegedly forging VIP letterheads to obtain complimentary tickets worth Rs 22,000 and selling them at inflated prices. All the accused in that case were residents of Andhra Pradesh and were caught red-handed by a police team deployed on security duty in the stadium parking area.